Soulful songs of love and devotion from former Spain vocalist/bassist Josh Haden; produced by Dan the Automator and featuring performances from John Medeski (Medeski, Martin, & Wood) and Kid Koala.

11 MP3 Songs
POP: Quirky, URBAN/R&B: Soul



Details:
While many musicians are products of musical families in one way or another, few can claim as deep a musical heritage as L.A.-based singer/songwriter Josh Haden. Son of legendary jazz bassist Charlie Haden and brother to Haden triplets Petra (that dog., Foo Fighters), Rachel (that dog., the Rentals), and Tanya (Letâs Go Sailing, Silversun Pickups, married to actor Jack Black), Josh Haden has created a name for himself with a unique musical vision, a skill for collaboration, and an ability to deliver a riveting live performance. The full scope of Joshâs talents come to fruition on his debut full-length album âDevotedâ, released February 13, 2007 on Diamond Soul Recordings.

Josh is probably best known as the former bassist/vocalist for the â90s indie band Spain. Lauded for their subdued alternative rock-blues sound, starting in 1993 Spain garnered an immediate positive reaction from the Los Angeles music community where they started, pairing up with other newbies such as Beck Hansen and his sistersâ group that dog. at local shows. A record deal with Restless Records followed, and Spainâs debut album âBlue Moods of Spainâ was released shortly thereafter, gaining the group critical acclaim and a solid foothold in the underground music scene. Spain would go on to tour all over America, Europe, and Australia, release two more records, and develop a cult following that still holds strong today.

In 1996, while on the video set for DJ Shadowâs âMidnight In A Perfect Worldâ (in which Josh played a funk music hippie cult guru), Josh was introduced to hip-hop pioneer/Spain fan Dan âThe Automatorâ Nakamura. Thus began a rich musical association which has resulted in Joshâs vocal duet with Sean Lennon on âSunshineâ from 1999âs debut Handsome Boy Modeling School cd (which has sold over 200,000 copies worldwide), Joshâs vocals on the Blue Man Groupâs sophomore 2003 cd, a U.K./U.S. tour with HBMS in 2005, and now Joshâs own debut solo cd, âDevotedâ, produced by Dan the Automator and recorded both at Danâs Glue Factory studio and Joshâs studio, Dexterâs Laboratory.

The album that Josh and Dan have put together is a combination of the best of their musical stylings. As beat master and hip-hop producer, Dan is able to supply Joshâs elegant vocals with an underpinning that is both classic and modern, weaving together old-school sounds with contemporary beats reflecting an eclectic merging of musical styles, from r&b ballads, to bass-heavy reggae, to smooth moog-laced pop, to â60s-style strip club burlesque madness. The turntable and keyboard tapestries of Kid Koala and John Medeski (Medeski, Martin, & Wood), respectively, add tasty musical flavors to the mix, sometimes heavenly, sometimes sinister, always beautiful. The soulful playing of former Spain guitarist/current Jack Johnson bassist Merlo Podlewski provides a solid foundation for Joshâs lyrical sensibilities, which revolve around, as the title of the album suggests, different aspects of devotion, from the personal to the universal, from divine love to carnal desire.

Josh Haden âDevotedâ lp official release date: February 13, 2007 on Diamond Soul Recordings.

For more information please visit www.joshhaden.com, or send an email to jhaden@mac.com.